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Trainer José Benavidez Sr. says his fighter Diego Pacheco (22-0, 18 KOs) will not overlook Steven Nelson (20-0, 16 KOs) in their 12-round main event this Saturday, January 25 at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas. Chelsea Lounge, in Las Vegas. The event will be broadcast live on DAZN.
(Credit: Matchroom Boxing)
Jose Sr. says they could have fought anyone, but they wanted Nelson, 36, who isn’t exactly young for a nine-year-old pro. He had a late start in the professional ranks due to his long amateur career, but he has the talent to potentially win this fight if he can get to the chin of the 23-year-old Pacheco. We’ve seen Diego have a couple of close calls.
On the undercard, lightweight contender Andy Cruz will fight Omar Salcido in a 10-round bout. Cruz looks to challenge WBC lightweight champion Shakur Stevenson for his belt.
No views of Nelson
“They don’t want to face a fighter like Diego Pacheco. “Canelo has everything to lose and nothing to gain,” José Benavidez Sr. told Sean Zittel that Canelo Álvarez will likely never agree to fight Diego Pacheco.
“That’s never going to happen because Canelo wants to fight fighters who come to you. Fighters who haven’t looked as impressive. Diego Pacheco has good direct blows. “He is young with good legs and power,” said José Sr.
“He is a good fighter. He is strong and confident in his power. That’s why we don’t underestimate Steven Nelson. We are taking him very seriously because he wants the same thing that Diego Pacheco wants. He wants to beat us to get the big fights. We want to beat him to get the big fights. It’s going to be very entertaining for me and for people.
“We were trying to do a tie with Christian Mbilli. We signed the paper and he said, ‘No, he wants to fight again.’ We are ready. These are the fights that will get us there. The dangerous fights to show the people.
“We are testing ourselves and focusing on Steven Nelson. He is a very dangerous fighter. After that, we’ll look at our options. At this point, we are 100% committed to Steve Nelson,” Benavidez Sr. said.
